Roof structure for use with prefabricated houses



July 22, 1952 7 5, HANSEN 2,604,060

0 1 ARTHUR S. HAN EN J y V A. s. HAN$EN 2,604,060 P I ROOF- STRUCTURE FOR USE WITH EREFABRICATED HOUSES Original Filed June a, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ARTHUR S. vHANSEN Znwentor Gttornegs y 22,195 A. S.YHANSEN I 2,604,060?

ROOF STRUCTURE FOR USE WITH PREFABRICATED HOUSES Original Filed June 8,1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 6'4 ARTHUR s. ugms zsu I v HDEIIO! attorney A. S.Y I-IAQN SEN I 60 ROOF STRUCTURE FOR USE' WITH PREFABRICATED HOUSES Original Filed June 8, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ARTljU/R s. HANSEN Juventor Gttornegs Patented July 22, 1952 ROOF STRUCTURE FOR USE WITH PREFABRICAT'ED HOUSES Arthur S. Hansen, Bellevue, Wash. Q Original application June '8, 1946, Serial No. 675,358. Divided and this application Septem- 'ber 4,1951, Serial No. 244,982

6 Claims.

This present application-is a divisional application covering ,a portionqoi the material disclosed in my ;co-pending U. S.,Patent application Serial No: 675,358 entitled, Prefabricated Packaged House-3" The subject matter, of this present application is limited, to those details of structure disclosed in the parent-application and which relate specifically to a roof structure with truss supporting means therefor, all of which elementsare capableroifv being prefabricated at a central plantand then folded into acompact package for transportation to thebuilding site. The structure is then particularly "adapted to quick 'and easy erection bya limited crew, and particularly, acrew-oi ordinary workmen, to the end that an economical roof structure is provided; and, because of. its being prefabricated in advance, can be erected on the job witha minimum ofman-hours of labor. 1

Persons in this field of endeavor have in the past produced a wide varietyof roof structures, the majority of which serve their intended purpose, quite satisfactorily, It has been noted heiwer in t o 1 tr. .t t h e studied that as a rule the home builder-is supplied with aconfusing array .o f com'p'onents which he 7 I then has to fabricate into his' roof structure on the job. This vhas made it necessary to employ highlyskilled persons for this 'work and it happens frequently that prefabricated types of houses are erected in far 'out'places, places removed from normal buildingjfacilities and nature ally; removed from centers of population where skilled constructors are readily] available. In certain instances that have'come .under observation, the task of transportingadequately{trained personnel to the building site'has inmanyicases made the labor component 'of f a house much higher in money value than, the actual house elements themselves. It isitoovercome this general deficiency that I have prbvidedmy foldable roof structure and it can n'o 'besupplied to builders with all the fitting an assembly'achieved n the building plant or 'factory f' Further,v fullest advantage can, thus be taken of technological developments and when the roof structureis sent to thebuildingsit'e the construction requires only a single individual who is versedinthis simplified 'formof building; with the balance of the labor having no requirements for training in this field. Therefore} the-overall" cost or a structure of this order-erected completejat the building' 'site'is believled. to'i be very appreciably-less than those other forms; of prefabricated housing which :have been observed to date;'i f, ,,t ;;5. t 1;: 1 pr ncipal. nbiecto QPhEJ-P n inventi therefore is to provide a foldable and nestable roof andv ceiling structure which can be completely finished at the point of manufacture and can then be folded into a compact shipping package for economical and-safe transportation; and when the building site is reached, the roof structure can be raised in; its ;final position by untrained labor for'use very quickly. 1

A further object of this present invention is to provide a packaged roof unit which can be purchased by a builder as a finished package of merchandise, and because it is predicatednormally upon the four-foot module plan, these units can be employed to-construct the roofs of a wide variety of structures- I A further object oi this present invention is to provide a packaged roof unit which can be constructed economically at a factory wherein a length of material and type of material can be selected so that they will each serve their intended purpose, but wherein a very substantial saving can be made by the expedient of employing-lower grades of lumber where they will serve their purpose, "and where short lengths can be employed thus making it possible to use the lower grades'of lumberfwithout' detriment to the final structure. V A further object is to provide an improved method of constructing and erecting a prefabricated roof .andceiling structure; 1 Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from thedescription and disclosure. in thedrawings'or' may be comprehended or areiinherent in theIdevicef' In the drawings: a

,Figure I is a; perspective,viewj filiowing sequential steps in the erection of, airoof built after the teachings of my present invention; '1 M 1 Figure 2 isa perspective view, certain parts of which are broken away' jllustrating, the truss members makingupone of my roofpanels;

Figure 3- is an exploded-perspective view showing the means employed to secure the foot of the Figure 4 is akfragmentary view showing a a typical eave with certain parts-in section;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 1;. I Figure .6 is 'asectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figured; and of .1. Figure '7 is a fragmentary. perspective view of the roof structural membersiasjoined.at-the-eave.

:Referring more'gparticularly-toi the; disclosure 2 in the :drawingsrmyirroof consists'esseritially of V has been emp 3 sheeting II) which forms the base for the type of roofing material it is desired to use. type of roofing usually influences the type of material used for the sheeting. The most common 1 form is to employ transversely positioned boards which may be laid in edge engagement with each other, orJvv'liichEin'ay be spaced apart so as to Y i give better'ventilation for certain types of roofring materials, such as shingles for instance.

Under such conditions the sheeting is normally The formed of relatively narrow boards to further asi sure ventilation of the underside of the roof covering. There are certain forms of structure where plywood may be more desirable especially where thin metallic roofing or some of; the various patent roofing papers may beemployed.

4 thickness, retaining the same depth of all members. It will then be apparent that when the marginal members of one unit are adjoined to the marginal members of adjacent units, the resulting truss structure will equal the strength of the central members. lifol lowing out this principle, I employ a chord} or ceilin oist members 22, 24 and 26 anohat'their centrally disposed ends I provide bolt holes, as 28, so that each may be joined securely with its companion half'chord'or ceiling member. At the wall end A of'chord members 24 I provide a spacer 30 secured thereto and these members are hingedly I secured, 'as by bolts 32, to rafter members i4.

The sheeting is supported on a plurality :of

rafters as l2, I4 and [6. These rafters are selected of a size suitable for the particular load-" carrying requirements and of course may be arranged to provide any designed roof slope. The

' rafters, howevenarenormau used in u'nits of three which are secured togeth'erin spaced relationshi'p'by'thesheeting 'lll; This form of construction, particularly adapted asfit -isfor pre- There is afurtherconsideration in the selection of the rafters however in that theyarious roof sections are fitted with their sides abutting in orderto make "a complete roof.

Therefore rafters l-2 and16 s'ubstantially'abut the outside rafters zana 16 of theadjoin-ing roof sections. Consequently it has been found expeditiousto have these rafters; which form the margins of the roof-panels, substantially one-half the thicknessof the 'centerrafters asil l' and in this way a uniform eae-su pbrtmgrfoor is provided without excessive" weight? or"- unnecessary "wastage of material; Forthe' 'use to whichthisfonnof roof is best adapted it is desirable that the roof'be self- I supporting except for the bearing pointsat the eaves; This meanst-hat the entire load'of the roof rests on theeave portionsof the" finished roof sections and leaves thdehtire fioor space i clear: so that: any desired arrangement of v partitions, or even the 'cqmpletejlacl; er partitions, can;

be achieved; "Suchastructure of jcourse to be made in substantial widthsan'dito maintain a V reasonably light weightstructuff "definitely" requires, a t s suppor ing arrangement and this l'o'yed. 1-

It will be observed lbylfao js'tudy of'Fig'iires 1 through 5, that it require twofof these prefabrieaten combination phi-ts diom a complete bent 0i; a building. This arrangement is provided in' order to keep the overall s'ize, 'andweight of each prefabricated unitidown to a point that will P m t of its a ha lin and vo th -n e sity for a large erection crew, v a

To insure economicalemployment of standard size buildingsheets, such as wall boards, plaster boards, plywood,- and the, like, I have-for my j present constructiom adoptedga fourfootmodule,

andit .has been found that adequate structural strength can be obtained by employing a central truss unit of. thedimensions that will adequately carry .the roof-loading with a given 1 span dimension and. to'emploiy on each end ofa stand- 'ard combinatiomunit, members of-"oneehalfithis (4; and

to ra fter [4, as by another bolt 32, is a compression member 34. At its lower end compression member 34 is provided with a shoe 35 and a rest member 36, which is in turn secured to chord 24. This construction is probably best illustrated in Figures 2 and: 3. Owing to the spacer 30, the compression member 34can swingireely and will, because of its-town weight, swing into position wherethe locking lip- 31* is locked behind and under rest 36. This provides the essential compression member of the truss and also provides a means forholding the half-roof sections in position during the erection stage, as is illustrated in Figure l, where theroofof one combination unit has been raised to its normal 'posi-' tionawaiting the raising of'it's companion build ing unit so that the twomembers, or half-roof sections, 'may be fully joined'together to form onebent,'as is also illustrated in Figure l. W

-At thereof peak endif-rafter I4 [provide another spacer, as 38, andpivoted about bolt 39 a tension member 40, much after the teaching of compression member 34, so-constructed that, as

parts,- as 42;be providedwith a longitudinal slot 44' so that bolt 416 may rest in the lower "endof the same as viewed, inits folded'position, in Figure 1, during the shipping; period; and when raised to the position of use, bolt 46' will come into. firm engagement withfl the upper "end 01 slot hus be able to assume the tension load it is designedto carry. f o 7 'At the various load'carryingpivote'd joints i prefer to use areiniorcirig'bearingdevice 147, normally referred to'asifa connector, which is 4 inletted, as at 48, one half; in each of the ad'- ia'cen't members. This construction, relieves the pivot of all structuralloiad, distributes the load olver ia large' area time timbers used, and prevents'iwear during he fworliin'g of the, pivotil'oint. a The mar ina 'membersfief each half or combination unit are' provided with ,half thickness chord irnembers 22 and 26 f and half thickness rafter-rmembers 12 and la. These rafter memhere are pivotally secured to their corresponding cmaor ceiling members, as fey. bolts .4'9,-'respec'-' tiv'ely. These membe s t m part of the arginal trusses for ,ea ch section, and have? compr i memb s; ,Whichare pivotably-connected totheir;corresponding rafters but attheir lower ends; owing, to; the Ff-act that they :can' be 5.- quate to support the roof .duringits erection period,-a simplification of their seat-in chord members 22 and 26 is indicated. This I have provided for in my present arrangement by notching the chord members at 52, after the showing particularly of Figure 2.

The tension member for the half-thickness or marginal trusses is provided by tension members 54 and B, which are pivotally secured to the roof peak end of the rafter members and are secured, as by bolting thereto, to the chord members 22 and 26. It is desired to point out that the compression and tension members as 50 and 54, while shipped pivoted to their corresponding point in the rafter member, are hand, assembled in their engagement with the chord members after the roof has been raised, as indicated in Figure 1. It has been found most convenient and practical in erection to have member 50 of full thickness, or in other words, for it to be twice the thickness of the chord members 22 and '26, so that one half of member 50 will lie on each of the chordmembers which are joined together to form themarginal members of the adjacent units. This has a further desirable characteristic in that the member 50, extending into the cut or dap 52 occuring in both of the chord members, serves to key them together and'to prevent longitudinal displacement of the same with respect to each other.

At the roof peak end of the thinor half-thickness rafter members, I provide 'a separator 58, thus when the adjoining section is brought into position adjacent the section already in place, ample space will be provided for member 50 to be swung into position and, when secured in snug engagement with each other, as by bolts. BI and 63, and possibly through nailing, the two halfchord members not only join the adjacent sections together well, but form a properly spaced and adequate securing surface for the ceiling material that is secured underneath the .chord The ceiling, 64 is normally secured to ceiling is shown in Figure 4,indicated by dashed lines in Figure 5, but has been omitted, for the sake of clarity, in Figure 1. r 1

Normally as the building unit leaves therproduction plant, it may or may notbe provided with the. desired typeof roofing. It willbeapparent, however, that any form of roofing: acceptable in the vicinity where the house is to be. built, could be substituted therefor. In any, event, however, it is necessary to employ roofsheeting as Ill. This sheeting serves to tiethe various truss members together and to provide a degree of. stiffness which is highly desirable in" this'form of construction. It has further been found desirable to provide tie or abutment members-at the roof peak end of each roof section, as at..66,.so that the two opposite, or mating, roof sections'may be securely held together, as by bolting or'otherwise, at'the peak. At the lower or wallzend of each roof section, I providethe cover boards-as 68 and 10. These boards I prefer to..secure to the outside ends of the chord members. It will be noted, particularly Figure 4. :that the inner board extends downwardlya suflicient .dis-' tance to cover the upper marginof the plate,

members 12 of the wall section.-

, Inorder to secure the roofsectionsetolthe wall unit Ihave provided each truss member with an angle bracket 14 best shown in Figuresfi and 7. These angle brackets are secured to rafters I2 and I6 by the pivot bolts 49 and to ceiling joist member 24 byepivot bolt 32. The lower or horizontal legs of angle brackets 14 are secured to the upper plate 12 of the Wall unit. This may be be done as desired as by bolts 16 as shown, or by bolts going completely through the plate, or by lag screws.

Erection The foundation, floor and walls of the building are first completed in any suitable manner. The next step is to raise the rafter assembly after the showing of the left hand side of Figure 1, so that the full strength central compression member 34 can be swung into its locked position on seat 36. This compression member, with its full strength chord member 24 and rafter member l4, have adequate strength to hold the unit in its upright or raised position.

The third step is to raise the right hand combination unit similarly and secure the two units together by bolting or nailing members 66 to each other. The next step is to secure the inward ends of the ceiling or chord members 22, 24 and .26 together. This is accomplished by passing bolts through previously bored holes 28 in the chord members and an overlaying splice member 14 as will be best understood from a studyof Figure 1. When this has been-accomplished, the roof truss members have sufficient supporting strength for the next step in erection.

Due to the overall length of the'roof units being greater than'the distance between the inside walls, it is most convenient to employ two graduated horses as 16 and 18 so the roof units can be assembled in an inclined position.

For the erection I prefer to use gin poles 80 which are suitably secured in position. In actual raising, to insure that no side stresses are placed upon the structure, I have found it expedient to use Spreaders as 82'.having hooks descending downwardly and engaging the marginal chord members so that the two roof units can be raised as'a unit to form a single roof bent of the house.

The actual raising can best be accomplished by the use of the commonlocking winches 84. If

only one man is available for the operation, he can take a turn or two successively on the winch oneach end of the bent and thus raise the entire section himself. It is of course necessary to raise one end higher than the other in order that the eave portions will not engage the inside of the Walls.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a roof structure for use with prefabricated houses.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

' l. A prefabricated roof and ceiling section pro the rafters and joists may be brought together in an interfingered relationship forming a compact box-shaped unit for handling and transportation; an intermediate tension link connected at one end to' the gable end of said intermediate rafter and connected at the other end to the central portion of said intermediate joist, said tension link being collapsible so said rafters and joists can be brought together in said interfingered relationship; a rigid intermediate compression member pivotally connected at its upper end to the central portion of said intermediate rafter and interengaging means between the lower end of said intermediate compression member and the central portion of said intermediate joist whereby said compression member can be positioned parallel to said rafters when said rafters and joists are brought together in said interfingered relationship and said compression member will swing down into position to engage said intermediate joist when said rafters are raised; and securing means connected to the free end of said ceiling unit for securing it to the ceiling unit of the opposite section.

5. A prefabricated roof and ceiling section providing, togetherwith an identical section on the opposite side of the gable, a bent of the roof and ceiling portions of a building, comprising: a rectangular roof unit running from an save to the gable; a rectangular ceiling unit running from an eave halfway to the opposite eave, said ceiling unit being of substantially equal width to said roof unit; connecting means pivotally securing the cave end of said roof unit to the cave end of said ceiling unit; a tension link pivotally con-' nected at one end to the gable end of said roof unit and pivotally connected at the other end to the central portion of said ceiling unit, said tension link being formed of two members and having slot and'key means therebetween connecting said members together permitting telescoping of said link when the gable end of said roof unit and the free end of said ceiling unit are brought together and providing automatic positioning of said intermediate link when the gable end of said roof unit is raised from said ceiling unit; a compression member pivotally connected at its upper end to the central portion of said roof unit and coacting shoe means on the lower end of said compression member and on the central portion of said ceiling unit providing means for securing the lower end of said intermediate compression member to said ceiling unit to accept a compressive load; and securing means connected to the free end of said ceiling unit for securing it to the ceiling unit of the opposite section.

6. A prefabricated assembly providing a bent of the roof and ceiling portions of a building, comprising: two rectangular roof units of equal widths, each running from an eave to the gable on opposite sides of the gable; two rectangular ceiling units of equal widths, each running from an eave halfway to the opposite eave, said ceiling units being of substantially equal widths to said roof units; connecting means pivotally securing in pairs the cave end of each of said roof units to the cave end of one of said ceiling units; a tension link for each roof unit, said tension link being connected at one end to the gable end of the roof unit and being connected at the other end to the central portion of the paired ceiling unit, said tension link being collapsible so that the paired roof and ceiling units may be brought together forming a compact unit for handling and transportation; a rigid compression member for each roof unit, said compression member being pivotally connected at one end to the central portion of the roof unit and interengaging means between the lower end of said compression member and the central portion of the paired ceiling unit whereby the paired roof and ceiling units may be brought together by positioning the compression member parallel to the roof unit and said compression member will swing down into position to engage said ceiling unit when said roof unit is raised; securing mean for connecting together the free ends of the two ceiling units when the roof units are raised; and securing means for connecting together the gable endsof said roof- No references cited. 

